Buying a puppy should be exciting, not stressful. But with so many breeders allowed to advertise online without too much scrutiny, it can be hard to know who’s following the law, putting animal welfare first and where your deposit is going.
Understanding how dog breeding licences work helps you make safer choices and reduce the risks.
What is a licensed dog breeder?
A licensed dog breeder is a person or business inspected and approved by their local council to breed and sell puppies as a business.
Licences are issued under a specific set of regulations, depending on whether you’re based in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
To get a licence, breeders must prove they meet welfare standards for housing, staffing, health, and record-keeping.
Councils visit breeders in person, often with a vet, before granting approval.
The licensing peace of mind
Being licensed isn’t a tick-box exercise, it’s proof of independent inspection and welfare checks.
Licensed breeders must:
- Provide clean, safe, and well-ventilated housing.
- Keep staffing levels suitable for the number of dogs
- Keep accurate records of every breeding dog, litter, and buyer.
- Have a vet endorsed health & screening plan to monitor dogs well-being
- Follow rules on breeding age, spacing between litters, and C-sections.
- Give puppies early socialisation and enrichment before sale.
- Licence holders must test all breeding dogs for hereditary disease & extreme conformation.
These standards protect not only the animals but also you as a buyer reducing the risk of buying a sick or poorly socialised puppy.
When does a breeder needs a licence
Regardless of their set-up as a home, hobby or large scale breeder – the regulations apply to everyone. A licence is needed when:
- Breed three or more litters in a 12-month period
- Advertise or sell puppies as a business, even with fewer litters.
In Wales & Northern Ireland, there are similar conditions but also:
- They keep three or more breeding bitches on the premises
- They advertise any puppies for sale from the breeding bitches (Wales)
Licensing decisions depend on behaviour, not just numbers. Councils are obliged to look at how often a breeder in their area advertises, how many sales they make, and whether they earn profit or commission from the activity.
This means even a small-scale breeder can still need a licence if they’re trading regularly and earn over the HMRC threshold.
Licensing can be confusing
Animal welfare laws are devolved, which means the rules for dog breeding differ slightly across each nation.
- England – Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018
- Wales – Breeding of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2014
- Scotland – Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021
- Northern Ireland – Welfare of Animals (Dog Breeding Establishments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (NI) 2013
Although the principles are similar, such as inspections and welfare standards, the licence thresholds, renewal periods, and inspection criteria vary between nations.
What’s Changing in Scotland
Scotland is leading further reform through the Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2025, which introduces stronger oversight of dog breeding and sales.
The new bill aims to:
- Create a code of practice to promote responsible breeding and ownership.
- Allow the Scottish Government to establish a register of unlicensed litters, improving transparency for puppies bred outside the licensing system.
- Increase public awareness of low-welfare breeding and imported puppy scams.
These updates are designed to strengthen accountability and help buyers make safer, better-informed choices when purchasing a dog in Scotland. But will ultimately lead to more confusion for puppy buyers and breeders alike.
If you live near a border, check which nation’s rules apply. It’s realistic to live in England, buy a dog in Wales, and face different standards.
Try the Do I need a Dog Breeding Licence Questionnaire
Why buying from an unlicensed breeder is risky
Unlicensed breeders aren’t inspected, so you can’t be sure:
- The dogs were kept in good conditions.
- The mother hasn’t been overbred.
- Puppies are properly vaccinated or socialised.
If problems occur such as illness, false paperwork, or poor welfare, enforcement options are limited.
When you buy from an unlicensed seller, there’s no proof that they legally own the dog or that your deposit is safe. Many use false names or temporary online profiles that disappear after you pay.
Investigations by FOUR PAWS found that one in three puppy adverts in the UK involved illegally imported dogs, often from Eastern Europe. These puppies are commonly underage, unvaccinated, and transported in poor conditions.
In some cases, false vaccination documents are created, and sellers use fake UK addresses to appear legitimate. Once money changes hands, buyers have no protection and no clear authority to contact if something goes wrong.
Licensed breeders, on the other hand, are inspected, traceable, and accountable and are happy to provide breed relevant hereditary health testing.
Their records link each puppy to the mother, the vet, and the buyer giving you confidence that the dog is healthy, legally bred, and properly raised.
Are all their good unlicensed breeders?
Yes, absolutely. Some people breed occasionally to preserve a dog’s lineage or because they have years of experience in a particular breed. Others may even work in the veterinary field and have excellent knowledge of animal care.
But the question is:
- How can anyone be sure that the minimum welfare standards have been met?
- And why would a breeder choose not to be licensed if they already meet those standards?
Being licensed isn’t about judging someone’s knowledge or experience, it’s about providing independent verification that welfare, housing, and record keeping meet a recognised standard.
Without that, even the most responsible breeders risk being grouped with those who cut corners or ignore the law.
Why some breeders avoid licensing
There are many reasons why breeders remain unlicensed.
For some, it’s simply confusion as explained above. The rules differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and online advice is often inaccurate.
Others assume they’re too small to need a licence, not realising that even advertising puppies can trigger the requirement.
Then there are those who fear scrutiny or don’t want to be associated with “commercial” breeding. Yet the licence system is there to protect the dogs, not to punish responsible breeders.
A licence builds trust with councils, vets, buyers, and the public it also helps show that breeding is being done safely and transparently.
A licence is still needed regardless of their Kennel Club status
If the breeder meets the licensing requirements, regardless of them breeding from home or even a first time breeder, they will need a licence regardless of a Kennel Club accreditation or status.
It’s easy to confuse a Kennel Club registration with licensing but they’re not the same.
The Kennel Club (KC) registration records pedigree information; it doesn’t check welfare conditions or breeding frequency via any meaningful inspection. However, it does advise breeders on best practice via their breed standard.
The old Assured Breeder Scheme once set higher standards, but it’s now closed to new members. Some breeders still display the badge and it should really be removed.
How to report a suspected illegal breeder
If you think a breeder is operating without a licence or mistreating animals:
- Contact your local council’s licensing department or Trading Standards
- Report welfare concerns to the RSPCA, Naturewatch Foundation, or Four Paws UK.
- Keeping evidence such as adverts, screenshots, and messages will help investigations.
- Contact local authority and/or trading standards if they are unlicensed and should be, or are licensed and are not operating to the required standard.
- If there are immediate and urgent animal welfare concerns, contact the police.
- People can also report to the USPCA (NI), RSPCA (England and Wales) and SSPCA (Scotland) and Naturewatch foundation.